Police Raid Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva

Police raid Od Yosef Chai yehsiva in Yitzar looking for an unidentified person of interest, use pepper spray in the process.

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Gavriel Qiueenann, 31/10/11 20:31

Od Yosef Chai Raid

Flash 90

Police raided the Od Yosef Chai yeshiva in the Samaria community of Yitzar on Monday seeking a young man for questioning.

It was reported, during the raid, that police used pepper spray, a tactic professional police agencies normally reserve for active resistance. No arrests for interfering with police were made, nor were their reports that yeshiva students actively resisted the police search.

After police determined the young man they sought was not present, they left.

Two months ago several yeshiva students were expelled from Judea and Samaria by civil administration authorities who claimed they were 'disruptive to peace.'

Then, two weeks ago, a police unit raided a Jerusalem apartment at 3:00 AM where some of the banned young men were staying, without warning. No reason for the raid was given, but it is believed they were looking for one of the expellees.

At the time, one of the tenants asked police to leave the apartment. In response the officers, who presented no warrant, demanded he display his rental agreement. Since the lease was not on hand at 3:00 AM, the detective claimed they did not have to comply with the request.

Detectives claimed they had a warrant, but have never produced one, leading to speculation no warrant existed. They took one of the young men into custody for not having his ID, but later released him.

Monday's raid may have been aimed at finding the expellee sought in the raid of two weeks ago, or be part of ongoing police efforts to find the vandals that torched a Galilee mosque recently, but police refused to comment on what they term an “ongoing investigation."